KEY LINKS
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card – Earn up to 135,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points. Earn 85,000 points after you spend $5,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months. $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card – Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $0 annual fee.
“What credit card should I get?” Lots of people wonder which card to sign up for when starting the pursuit of points and miles. Because Marriott is a fairly major hotel chain, one of the most common types of points that people look to get are Marriott Bonvoy points. While Marriott Bonvoy points are not the most valuable points around, they can be useful, especially with the welcome offers that these two cards offer. So let’s take a look and compare the Marriott Bevy vs. Marriott bold credit cards to see which one is better. Let’s review the details.
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy vs. Marriott Bonvoy Bold: Annual fee
- The Marriot Bonvoy Bold card has no annual fee
- The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card has a $250 annual fee.
Winner: The Marriott Bevy card (obviously)
Comparing the welcome offers
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card has a welcome offer where you can earn up to 135,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points. Earn 85,000 points after you spend $5,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months.
The welcome offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card allows you to earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Winner: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy. Obviously the welcome offers on the cards change over time, so you can argue a slight edge to one card vs. the other depending on where the welcome offers currently sit. Though given the fact that these two cards are quite similar, the welcome offer on the Bonvoy Bevy is almost certainly going to be higher than the offer on the no-annual-fee Bonvoy Bold card. This is likely to be true even when accounting for the difference in the annual fees on the two cards.
Rewards With the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy and Marriott Bonvoy Bold Cards
The two cards have a very similar earning structure. With the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy, you’ll earn
- 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
- 4X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent at U.S. supermarkets, at restaurants worldwide and on delivery and takeout in the U.S., on up to $15,000 in combined spending (then 2 points per $1).
- 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases.
Compare that to the Bonvoy Bold card, which earns at the following rates:
- 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points for every $1 spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points at grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, and select streaming, and internet, cable and phone services
- 1X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other purchases.
Winner: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy. It has higher earning categories in every single area.
Redemptions and transfers
Both the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card and the Marriott Bonvoy Bold card earn Marriott Bonvoy points, which means that you can use them to book stays at Marriott hotels. Marriott does have let you transfer your points to select airline transfer partners, but the points that you earn with either of these cards transfer in the same exact way.
Winner: Tie.
Other benefits of the cards
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold does not have a ton of benefits – probably the biggest ones are Complimentary Marriott Silver elite status and 5 elite nights towards status each year.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy does have some decent benefits, including
- Free Night Award (valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $15,000 in a calendar year
- Earn 1,000 points per paid eligible stay booked directly with Marriott Bonvoy at participating properties.
- Complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status
- 15 elite nights towards status each year
Winner: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy. While neither card has some of the amazing benefits found on other top hotel credit cards, the Bonvoy Bevy definitely has a leg up.
And the winner is…
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card! Although it comes with a $250 annual fee, it also has a higher welcome offer and significantly better benefits.
Other Marriott Cards To Consider
If you want to explore other options for cards that earn Marriott Bonvoy points, you can look at:
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card – Earn 3 Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points. Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply. $125 annual fee (see rates and fees). Read our full review here.
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card – Earn up to 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points. Earn 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months. $650 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card – Earn 3 Free Nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of account opening. $95 annual fee. Read our full review here.
The Bottom Line
KEY LINKS
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card – Earn up to 135,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points. Earn 85,000 points after you spend $5,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months. $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card – Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $0 annual fee.
I think that for most people, these added benefits most importantly the better welcome offer are enough to offset the difference in the annual fees. You can always apply for the Bonvoy Bevy and if you find the annual fee is not worth it for you, cancel or downgrade the card in year two.
Which card would you pick between the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy and Bonvoy Bold cards? Is there another card that is better than both of these? Leave a comment below and let us know why!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at
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